Joint Legislative Auditing Committee authorizes Baker County audit

Florida’s bicameral Joint Legislative Auditing Committee wants a look at Baker County’s books.

Amid an ongoing legal controversy over whether the Clerk of Court or the County Commission controls finances in the rural county in Northeast Florida, lawmakers agreed to an operational audit of Baker County.

County Commissioner James Bennett noted “ongoing concerns” with finances, including years of late audit submissions and “lack of confidence” in the Clerk of Court’s office, helmed by Stacie Harvey.

“The Finance Director has recently departed … but that does not account for nine out of ten audits” being late, he said.

“It is challenging for us as a county to continue to see our finances not being submitted on time to the state at a time when a county such as Baker County is in continuous need of continued support from the state,” he added.

The other Commissioners, including Chair Jimmy Anderson, echoed Bennett’s position.

The Clerk’s attorney, Joel Foreman, said Harvey agreed to the audit on the condition that it be “operational and county-wide,” given “institutional inertia” that allegedly plagues Baker County.

During testimony, Harvey revealed she was locked out of one of the county’s financial systems after hours.

“Well, it’s in the evening time, and normally, like during the day, as far as at the Clerk’s office, we don’t have time to actually sit down, due to the traffic that comes in and out. So we normally do a lot of this stuff financial-wise in the evening time. And the prior finance director, she did work late in the morning hours, because that’s when she felt like she was able to concentrate on the work,” Harvey explained.

Bennett responded, saying there were “concerns over outside entities having access to the network” and restated lawmakers’ concerns about late audits.

Independent Sen. Jason Pizzo of Sunny Isles Beach says Democrats see an unexpected Senate opening in Alaska, where Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is up for re-election and former Rep. Mary Peltola or another strong Democrat could be competitive amid shifting demographics. While Democrats must defend seats in Georgia and Michigan and flip four Republican-held seats, recent elections showed GOP weakness when Donald Trump is not on the ballot. Strong Democratic prospects are emerging in North Carolina, where Roy Cooper leads early polls, and in Maine, where Susan Collins could face Gov. Janet Mills. Ohio is also in play, with Sherrod Brown historically outperforming his party. Iowa has become a surprise target as Joni Ernst steps aside. With voter dissatisfaction rising, Democrats say a Senate majority is increasingly plausible. Each seemed to see the Clerk’s point, urging a close look at password protection and control.

“Is this a situation where the county has frustrated the Clerk’s ability to be able to perform her task, in which case, basically setting her up for failure? In which case, it would reek of politics and not of pragmatism,” said Pizzo, who led Senate Democrats until late last Session.